Hey all I've been lurking on here for a little now and finally decided to make an account. I just want to let everyone know, who unbeknownst to them, have helped me tremendously, especially in my belief in the vegan diet. So, THANK YOU ALL! Anyway, my bio-metrics: 130-131 lbs 5'9" male 21 years old. That said, I had a quick question about nutrition. I lift weights 3 days a week and jog/run 3 days a week so I'm blasting through calories however I'm nervous I may be eating too much. My specific question i about breakfast. I vary what I eat but it usually comes down to a steamed vegetable and a grain. For example this morning I did my leg workout (split squats, lunges, calf press, seated calf and leg extensions). Right afterwords I had a protein shake made with Life's Basics Plant Protein and water and I am currently (about 45 mins after working out) eating about 1-1 1/2 cups spinach (measured after cooking) and 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill 7 grain hot cereal made with about 1 1/4 cups almond milk, 1 Tbsp peanut butter and a handful of dried currants. My question is, Is this too much? I want to build muscle as lean as possible (ie. gain a little muscle mass and strength without gaining any fat) and I just don't want to carry around any unnecessary weight. Thanks,Tom

Heya mate welcome aboard, imo there's nothing wrong with putting on a littttle bit of body fat especially considering that the more muscular you are the less fat your body will hold onto. When it comes down to putting on muscle you kinda have to just eat eat eat and cut the fat at a later time. Anywho there are better nutritionists on the site that will help greatly, just wanted to welcome you and give you my 2 cents, all the best dude!Ross

I don't think that sounds like enough food. I really like www.myfitnesspal.com for tracking everything I eat. They have an app for phones too. You can tell it that you want to eat 40/40/20 protein/carbs/fats and that you want to gain .5 lbs per week and then input what youeat and what workputs you do. It's really useful.

Holy Moses that was fast guys! Thanks a lot to each of you. Unfortunately, I thought it would have to come to that rossco and maybenot, so, thanks for reassurance. Also, Evader, thank you very much for the recommendation. I had been using caloriecount for a few months and I did enjoy a lot of the benefits of a calorie counter, however, I tend be pretty obsessive so I start to be pulled into orthorexia when I use one. Also, I always feel like I absolutely 100% have to hit certain numbers of my macros so I become very obsessed with that as well. All in all I usually end up under eating while using a calorie counter. Thanks for the recommendation though. I may have to end up working on the psycological aspect of all of this and just using one. What do you guys think a good macro ratio would be considering my situation? Also, any help on the mental part would be appreciated as well!Thank you all,Tom

I don't see any problem with obsessing over macros and calories. If you don't obsess you'll never be the best you can be. But to put on muscle you obsolutely need to hit your calories not be under. Muscle will not grow in a calorie deficit. Most bodybuilders will preach 40/40/20 and even as a vegan I've had really good progress with it. It does require about 2 double protein shakes a day, and a lot of tofu and seitan for me to hit my goal of about 350g of protein per day for my body weight of 225 and my level of physical activity.

Thanks Evader and yea I figured as much was true and that I would have to watch my macros closely. I guess I wanted to avoid it for as long as possible because it stresses me out! Anyways I guess the next step is getting a food scale so that my entries into the calorie counter will be more accurate. Also, when I was using a calorie counter I felt like I ate a fairly carb conscious diet but it turns out I naturally eat 60/20/20 c/p/f. I feel great with this but I do believe upping the protein would be worth a go. Now, with this 60/20/20 I am eating a lot of beans mainly and tofu a few times a week. I also eat a variety of nuts, usually almonds, walnuts and cashews. My protein intake seemed to hover around the 80g mark if I remember correctly? The only problem with that is that my carb numbers were really high because of all of the beans I believe. So, how would I increase my protein and decrease my carbs without eating tofu more than 1-serving a day? Thanks guys!

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